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FAQs: Does Counseling Work?

Counseling is an opportunity to address the issues and challenges in your life with a trained, licensed and experienced professional in a confidential and non – judgmental environment. Sessions offer focused and uninterrupted time that’s dedicated to you. Our care providers offer a wide range of therapeutic backgrounds, styles, and care modalities. The import ant thing is that your care provider will always take the approach that best fits your situation, needs and goals.
SamaraCare stands apart from other mental health providers for several reasons. We be lieve in strengthening the connections between the mind, body, spirit and community to achieve optimum well – being. Our care providers are trained to offer spiritually integrated counseling for clients interested in that option. Lastly, we believe in afford able access to mental health services and are committed to offering reduced cost counseling to qualifying clients through our Mental Health Access Program.
Of course, everyone’s experience is different, but the vast m ajority of our clients find counseling to be a force for meaningful positive transformation in their lives. Counseling may result in getting a different perspective on your experiences; exploring and discovering new things about yourself; changing unhelpfu l patterns of thinking and behaving; processing difficult experiences; and/or learning healthy coping skills. Most clients experience an enhanced ability to navigate life’s challenges with greater ease.
Yes, we have licensed psychiatrists who can prescribe medication when appropriate. Medication management is one tool out of many that we can use to help you successfully resolve your challenges and concerns.

How Does Counseling Work?

Your first appointment is referred to as your Intake session. At that session, you and your care provider will begin to get to know each other. Your care provider will want to hear about what brought you to seek treatment as well as some general information about yourself and your current life situation. You may share your main concerns and your hopes for the outcome of your work together. Feel free to ask any questions and by the end of the appointment your therapist will provide initial thoughts about what to expect moving forward.
Counseling sessions are typically 45 – 53 minutes. Psychiatric sessions vary from 16 to 53 minutes.
Counseling sessions are usually once a week; however, you and your counselor may agree to meet more or less often depending on your needs.
The timing varies tremendously; it can last for a few sessions or several years. It depends on what you’re working on, the time you’re willing to put into it and the level of improvement you want. You’ll know you’re finished with counseling when you’ve accomplished your goal(s) and feel ready to meet life’s challenges without the suppo rt counseling provides.
Our Mental Health Access Program provides reduced cost care for qualifying clients. For more information, please see our “ Reduced Cost Care ” page.
There are a few things new clients need to do before their intake session.
They include:
  • Create a Client Portal with a password.
  • Complete our online intake forms.
  • Provide a Photo ID and a copy of your Insurance Card (if applicable) both from and back.

How Do Psychiatric Services Work?

Not every mental health issue requires a psychiatrist. Often a psychologist or other clinical therapist can provide all the help you need. Whether or not to see a psychiatrist often requires an honest self-assessment including an awareness of behaviors, emotions, and thought patterns that are unhealthy, debilitating, and/or interfering with daily life. It’s how you cope, how you react, and what you do to get through difficult life experiences that indicates whether or not seeing a psychiatrist is necessary. A psychiatrist is not only qualified to make an accurate mental diagnosis, but their medical school training enables them to assess physical issues that may be contributing to a client’s psychological concerns.
Generally, a psychologist or therapist provides psychotherapy and a psychiatrist is seen when medications are part of the treatment. However, at SamaraCare, we have psychiatrists on staff that offer both psychotherapy and medication management.
No. Our psychiatrists see their role as educating you about the risks, benefits, side effects and alternatives to treatment. They will partner with you in what you see as your best strategy to manage your condition. It is your decision whether or not to take medication, and we want you to be fully informed in either case.
For some clients, medications may be a short-term solution to help manage the initial stages of treatment. For others, medication use may be long-term or even lifelong. The decision to use or not use medication will always be made only after a discussion with your psychiatrist.
Very few medications provide immediate relief. It often takes weeks and sometimes months for medication to become fully effective. It may take trying a couple of different types of medication to find the one that works the best for you.
Yes, medication can be an effective part of a comprehensive treatment for children and adolescents which may also include psychotherapy and family therapy. Medication can reduce or eliminate troubling symptoms and improve daily functioning. Many children take medications for attention deficit disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Also, psychotropic medications may be prescribed for children who have autism, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, and other mental health conditions. As with adults, finding the right medication and dosage for a child or adolescent may involve some trial and error.
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